Guilt
by RJay23
Summary: NALEY, BALEY - There was only one thing she felt and as she glanced up, she saw it mirrored in his eyes too. The feeling was guilt and it was the only thing she would ever share with Nathan Scott again.


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Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my OTH dvds. Sadly, the rest belongs to Mark Schwahn and the CW.

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**Guilt**

It wasn't her fault. She wasn't the one who had been in control. But that fact did nothing to dispel the guilt Brooke felt. It wasn't in her nature to be so cruel and heartless, especially to her best friend. But it still didn't change the fact that she had been.

"_Haley, where are you? Haley, come out! You're scaring me; I don't like this game anymore" a six year old Brooke cried, wondering around the dimly lit park as the last rays of sun began to disappear on the horizon. She had met Haley merely two weeks ago, when she had moved to Tree Hill from Raleigh; a business venture of her father's had relocated meaning that, once again, Brooke was forced to move to a new town, make new friends and start at a new school. But as she climbed out of her family's car as it rolled into the new driveway of her parent's house, she was fascinated by the young girl wearing denim shorts and a blue top, bouncing a basketball while walking with a scrawny blonde boy. _

_A loud scream was heard followed by giggling as Haley jumped out from behind a bush as Brooke walked passed, frightening the young brunette beauty. Brooke began to chase her younger friend, as the two weaved in and out of the trees before coming to a stop near the black top of the Rivercourt._

"_Come on, Brookie! You have to admit that it was pretty funny. I swear you jumped three feet in the air" the short auburn haired girl said before erupting in another fit of giggles, soon joined by her friend who began to laugh too. _

"_Yeah…it's pretty funny now. It wasn't before though, you really scared me Haley. But it's okay, because I forgive you. I can't ever stay mad at my best friend"_

"_Promise we will always be best friends, Brooke?" _

"_Always" _

As Brooke Davis stood in the beautiful sunlight, her makeup flawless and her dress perfect, there was only one thing she felt and as she glanced up, she saw it mirrored in his eyes too. The feeling was guilt and it was the only thing she would ever share with Nathan Scott again.

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She and Haley had been friends since childhood, but began to cling to one another after the death of their mutual best friend, Lucas. He had lost his battle with leukaemia at the young age of seven and it had affected both girls dramatically.

"_Brookie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" a seven year old Haley asked. Brooke walked further into her best friend's bedroom and took a seat on the bed beside Haley. _

"_It's Lukie, Hales. He's gone" said a distraught Brooke. _

"_No, he just went to the hospital. His mommy took him to get his medicine" Haley replied, continuing to read her book. She was incredibly intelligent for a seven year old; reading books far beyond the average capability at her age. It sometimes made Brooke jealous that Haley was so good at something, while she wasn't good at anything. But Haley always said to her that she was good at lots of things, she would just have to wait to discover something she was great at. _

"_Haley. He's gone. I went to give his mommy some brownies so she could give them to Luke so he would feel better but she was crying. Lukie went to heaven, is what she said" _

"_She's lying!" screamed Haley, throwing her book with impressive force. She was intelligent and knew that her friend was very sick, but she thought that if didn't accept it, it wouldn't be true. "She's lying" she repeated much softer, beginning to cry as she realised her best friend wasn't here anymore. He was dead and she felt as though a part of her had died too. As the two young girls hugged each other, crying for their friend, Haley realised that Luke, her best friend since she could remember, really was not coming back – ever. Brooke was all she had now. _

Since that day on they had become each other's family. When Haley's parents decided to visit one of her many siblings and leave young Haley alone, or when Brooke's parents forgot about, or neglected to acknowledge their daughter, the two friends found comfort with each other. Each abandonment left small chips in each girl's heart, small chips that would be forever unhealed but the pain bearable. But Brooke was the one who had **broken** her best friend's heart.

She was the one who had betrayed Haley. With Haley's boyfriend, no less. It is a cruel sin, to betray someone you love, but it is even crueller when you betray them with the love of their life; the person they are in love with and intend to be with forever.

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Brooke regretted it everyday since it had happened. It was never meant to happen, but just because it wasn't meant to, doesn't make it go away. Haley was never meant to find out, they had both agreed it was a mistake she didn't need to be hurt by, but somehow it was revealed. The look in Haley's eyes, a look of pain, betrayal, anger and a small amount of hope that maybe it wasn't true, will haunt Brooke until the day she dies.

Which should have been last week, if Brooke had it her way.

She could only call out for Haley as she fled from the room, partygoers stunned into silence by the revelation.

"_Haley! Haley! Come back. I'm sorry; it was a mistake!" Brooke screamed as Haley fled the party, her shocked expression quickly becoming one of anger. It was never meant to happen and she wasn't __**ever**__supposed to find out. Brooke was her best friend, the one who was supposed to protect her from being hurt, not become the one who hurt her the most. _

Never could they have imagined that good-girl, loyal friend Brooke could betray her best-friend like that, especially with Nathan who loved Haley with his whole heart.

"_Nathan! Put me down or I swear I will do something you really won't want me to do!" Haley squealed, her threats not taken lightly by her raven-haired boyfriend as she began to laugh. She was currently thrown over his shoulder, her feet dangling inches above the water as he stood knee-deep in the ocean. They had decided that since it was such a nice day and instead of spending the day cooped up in Haley's room, studying, they should spend it at the beach. It had been a long time since the two young lovers had been able to spend a day together, carefree without the worries of school, studying, upcoming exams, tutoring or the next basketball game. _

"_That sounds really threatening, Hales" he teased, laughing as she latched tighter onto him as he began to walk deeper into the water. _

"_Please Nathan, put me down" she pleaded, as she attempted to turn her head so he could see the pout firmly displayed on her lips, her bottom lip jutted out. She knew he could never resist that look and she used it to her advantage. _

"_Okay, I'll put you down" he said, lowering her into the water, laughing as she screamed and pleaded with him not to let her go. She slipped slightly and squealed, before wrapping her legs securely around his waist so she wouldn't fall into the water. _

"_But I thought you wanted me to put you down?" he laughed as she glared at him. _

"_Not anymore. I kind of like where I am right now" she said, flashing him a smirk as he realised their current position. _

"_Me too" he mumbled as his lips crashed onto hers. She moaned softly, her arms moving from where they were gripping his shoulders to around his neck. He traced her bottom lip, begging for entrance which she gladly gave. They stood, there in the water, their tongues battling for dominance._

"_God, I love you" Nathan spoke in a breathy moan. Haley froze in his arms, her lips separating from his immediately, her face stunned. _

"_Wh…What?" she choked out, her eyes darting between his, searching for confirmation that she had heard him correctly. Nathan sighed heavily, he hadn't meant to tell her, not like this, but it was true. He did love her; he was completely and utterly in love with her. _

"_I love you, Haley" he repeated, looking her straight in the eye so that it felt as if he was looking straight into her soul. It sometimes amazed her how much his eyes revealed about him. He was so emotionless on the court, yet when he looked at her, his eyes were a pool of emotion. _

"_I..I..why?"_

"_Because, I just do. I love it when you bite your bottom lip when you're nervous, or how you chew the end of your pencil when you are thinking really hard, I love your independence and your intelligence and I love the fact that someone like you sees something in me. I love how you always have that single piece of air that doesn't sit behind your ear, which always make me want to brush it away and feel your so soft skin beneath my fingers. I love yo…" he was cut off by her lips crashing onto his, passion and love evident in her kiss. She pulled away. _

"_I love you, too" _

It just showed what too much alcohol could do to a teenager's inhibitions.

"_I am so drunk!" Brooke said, flopping down next to Nathan on the sofa. There were people passed out on the floor, cups littering the floor and the music still blasted. _

"_Me too" Nathan replied, taking another sip from his cup._

"_Where's Haley?" Brooke asked, even though she already knew the answer. She was more than slightly inebriated._

"_Gone away for the weekend to see some sibling", Nathan pouted. "The one time her parents actually decide to pay attention to the fact that she misses them when they are _

_gone, is the night of the semi-finals. I wish she was there to see us win. I miss her" _

"_Oh stop whining, Scott!" Brooke demanded, standing up and holding out her hand so he would do the same. "You just won; you're going to play in the state championship. Yeah, Haley isn't here, and I miss my best friend too, but she'll be back soon so let's quite this whine-fest and have some fun. Or I might have to start calling you 'broody'._

_He grasped her hand, both stumbling slightly from his weight and the alcohol, before they both made their way into the kitchen. Sitting at the makeshift bar in Rachel's house, where the party was being held, they both took shot after shot, laughing as their words became more slurred, until they could barely remember their own name, let alone each others. _

_Before they knew it, they were stumbling into a room, frantically pulling at each others clothes._

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After a few seconds, Brooke had raced after Haley, only to see her climb into her car. She had been drinking; a lot. They both had. They had just won the State Championship; that was reason to celebrate. Due to what had just happened and the alcohol she had consumed, Brooke was beginning to feel dizzy, but it didn't stop her from scrambling into the passengers seat.

"_Haley. I'm sorry. Please don't do this. You've had too much to drink" Brooke pleaded with her best friend as Haley began to reverse out of the driveway. _

"_How could you do that to me?" Haley screamed, putting her foot down on the accelerator slightly as the drove down the street._

"_It was a mistake. We were both so drunk!" she tried to explain, gripping the dashboard as Haley dangerously flew around a corner. _

"_Oh and that makes it all better!" Haley sarcastically asked, accelerating even more. _

"_No! It doesn't but please, you need to slow down. We never meant for it to happen or for you to find out. Rachel is just a meddlesome bitch who likes stirring up trouble. She shouldn't have said anything" _

"_Why, Brooke? You are my best friend! I love him, so much! Why do the people I love always hurt me? It hurts so bad, so bad, Brooke! How could you?" _

Brooke couldn't remember what happened after that. She woke up in a hospital room five hours later where she had been told that they had been in a car crash. The car had run into a parked car about three blocks from the party. All she had suffered was a concussion and a broken arm.

It wasn't her that had been behind the wheel. But she still felt as though it should have been.

If it had have been Brooke behind the wheel, or if she hadn't have made the drunken mistake in the first place, Haley would still be alive.

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**Please review. I wasn't sure about this story. I did post it a little while ago, but removed it because I hated it. I have rewritten it and would really appreciate feedback. For anyone who reads TBI, the story has been outlined, the first two chapters have been rewritten, the third chapter is outlined and I am working on it now. I would like to get through writing a large portion of the story before post it. It has taken a turn even I didn't expect so it will be a little different from the original. Leave me some love, also known as reviews because they make my day! - Jay**


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